STARKVILLE, Miss.--Six Mississippi State landscape architecture graduate students recently completed a 15-week challenge to "re-think" the look of downtown Starkville and make recommendations to enhance both its appearance and economic development potential.
The semester-long project directed by landscape architecture professor Pete Melby was commissioned by the Starkville Downtown Business Association and involved detailed fact-gathering and analysis of current conditions, as well as focus group meetings to solicit feedback and ideas. While an educational project, the participating students said they feel it has the potential to come to life.
"We think we have ideas that will make downtown Starkville more economically viable, more visually unified, and more family-friendly," said Eric Stortz of Jackson, the project's coordinator.
The results, which the students titled the "Old Main District," were presented to the merchants' association, which agreed there's much in the plan to think about. SDB president Steve Langston of Sullivan's Business and Office Supply and Sammy Smith of Smith and Byars clothiers provided feedback to students throughout the project and helped coordinate community meetings.
"We were looking for new ideas and the students developed some suggestions we'd never even thought about," Langston said.
Among them is a proposed government center that fronts Jefferson Street. Landscaping, improved parking and a possible stage area for concerts would give a visual "center" to the complex and provide an anchor for a northern sector of the community.
Langston said he and other merchants agree a needed element now missing from downtown Starkville is "upper-end living in the downtown area." Noting that many communities now provide downtown condominiums and other living opportunities, he said, "We've actively been seeking investors to develop properties that would appeal to Mississippi State alumni, retirees and others."
He added: "The student team gave us some good ideas for how to accomplish a residential area."
Among other parts of the master plan that could be phased in over time are: the addition of Main Street plantings to create areas friendly to pedestrians; a Main Street turnaround and clock tower to provide a visual "end" to the street; expanded bicycle paths to link downtown with the Mississippi State campus; a Museum District with a park and lake; and the addition of signage to clearly mark the Old Main District.
"It's a long-term plan and gives us something to guide our thinking," Langston said. "Some things could be accomplished fairly quickly, while others give us a start in planning ahead."
He said the merchant group would continue to meet with city officials and others in the community, including downtown property owners. "Having a plan is a major step in moving ahead," he said.
Melby described the project as "a marvelous challenge" for his students. "They became confident and learned the process for solving problems," he said.
Observing that his students traditionally have taken on projects for communities around the state, he added, "We thought it was important to do this for our own community and give something back to Starkville."
In addition to Stortz, other members of the MSU graduate student team were Paul Boals of Cedar Grove, Tenn., Paul Lanning of Memphis, Tenn., Gene Miller of Starkville, Hollye Raines of Decatur, Ala., and Ying Zhang of China.